Ensuring the Safety and Security of all of us
- We must strengthen the Rule of Law: All people, including the president, are subject to the rule of law. Institutions such as the FBI and the Department of Justice need to be freed from political interference and allowed to function independently with their policies and operations based on evidence, not political favoritism.
- We must engage in Criminal Justice Reform: Prosecution often is based on the assumption of guilt because of a person’s race or level within society. Police need to be trained to look past their prejudices and treat everyone suspected of a crime with an unbiased eye.
- The current weaponization and use of the DOJ and the FBI to attack political opponents, pardon criminals and violate the Rule of Law must be stopped. It is important that crimes committed by all, even those in power, be prosecuted.
- The current use of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) as a predatory oppressive force must stop. Its terrorizing of immigrants is violating all laws - all residents have the absolute right to Habeas Corpus (which means they should be charged and brought before a court, and the judge must decide their future).
- The Use of Concentration Camps in third countries (El Salvador, South Sudan, Libya etc.) is unacceptable. Undocumented migrants with criminal records may be deported only back to their home countries - NOT sent to prisons.
The Rise of Militarism
The US has the most powerful and capable military in the world, the only one with global reach. It spends more than the next seven nations put together. The current administration has begun the misuse of the US military at the slightest provocation against its own citizens and proposes a huge increase in military spending. The use of ICE and the National Guard against our own citizens is unacceptable. Plus the US military must only be used to defend the nation against foreign enemies. Along with tax cuts the increase in military spending creates a federal deficit that is exploding and becoming more difficult for future generations to pay off. Those who benefit are, once again, the most wealthy who loan money as the US borrowing gets out of control. We also now have a politicizing of the military which has a demoralizing effect on its members. And by alienating our allies we actually are weakening our defense.
The US has the most powerful and capable military in the world, the only one with global reach. It spends more than the next seven nations put together. The current administration has begun the misuse of the US military at the slightest provocation against its own citizens and proposes a huge increase in military spending. The use of ICE and the National Guard against our own citizens is unacceptable. Plus the US military must only be used to defend the nation against foreign enemies. Along with tax cuts the increase in military spending creates a federal deficit that is exploding and becoming more difficult for future generations to pay off. Those who benefit are, once again, the most wealthy who loan money as the US borrowing gets out of control. We also now have a politicizing of the military which has a demoralizing effect on its members. And by alienating our allies we actually are weakening our defense.
Reforming US Defense
There is little doubt that the US defense forces are the strongest is the world, and there have been many factors that have contributed to its superiority. We have foolishly weakened our relationships with our allies, including our alliance with NATO, threatened our long-standing relationship with Australia by adding tariffs, done nothing to check weaken the terrorists who would threaten us, and have created renewed nuclear arms tension.
There are some in America who question the need for a powerful military and claim that it is not a force for good in the world, and feel that the money would be much better spent improving the lives of its people. The strength of the US military comes from a number of factors: high defense spending, large spending on weapons development, maintaining superiority in nuclear and space weapons, taking the lead in security cooperation with allies, a desire to project power globally, and fighting the global terrorist threat that actually does not threaten the existence of the US. The huge increase in spending requested by the current administration would add massively to the Federal Deficit.
Our vision is more in line with the nation’s and the world’s real defense needs: (1) Reduce defense spending to a more sustainable level so to not contribute to federal deficits, (2) Strengthen US cooperation with our allies around the globe, (3) Build a multi-lateral arrangement for keeping the peace in the world in cooperation with our allies, (4) Renew our nuclear non-proliferation process that convinces nations that currently have nuclear weapons to begin to reduce them, and persuade others not to get them. The US must lead by example while making sure that those who threaten of create conflict are dealt with firmly, without overlooking the humanitarian needs of people everywhere.
There is little doubt that the US defense forces are the strongest is the world, and there have been many factors that have contributed to its superiority. We have foolishly weakened our relationships with our allies, including our alliance with NATO, threatened our long-standing relationship with Australia by adding tariffs, done nothing to check weaken the terrorists who would threaten us, and have created renewed nuclear arms tension.
There are some in America who question the need for a powerful military and claim that it is not a force for good in the world, and feel that the money would be much better spent improving the lives of its people. The strength of the US military comes from a number of factors: high defense spending, large spending on weapons development, maintaining superiority in nuclear and space weapons, taking the lead in security cooperation with allies, a desire to project power globally, and fighting the global terrorist threat that actually does not threaten the existence of the US. The huge increase in spending requested by the current administration would add massively to the Federal Deficit.
Our vision is more in line with the nation’s and the world’s real defense needs: (1) Reduce defense spending to a more sustainable level so to not contribute to federal deficits, (2) Strengthen US cooperation with our allies around the globe, (3) Build a multi-lateral arrangement for keeping the peace in the world in cooperation with our allies, (4) Renew our nuclear non-proliferation process that convinces nations that currently have nuclear weapons to begin to reduce them, and persuade others not to get them. The US must lead by example while making sure that those who threaten of create conflict are dealt with firmly, without overlooking the humanitarian needs of people everywhere.